Associations Between Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Mortality by Sociodemographic Factors

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Sociology

Background:

• The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended investigating how sociodemographic factors influence the health benefits of physical activity (PA).
• This study addresses this by examining the association between meeting leisure-time PA guidelines and mortality across various sociodemographic characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if meeting leisure-time physical activity guidelines is associated with reduced all-cause, heart disease, and cancer mortality.
• To explore how these associations differ across sociodemographic groups, including sex, race/ethnicity, and education level.

Main Methods:

• Utilized nationally representative data from 567,483 US adults (1998-2018 NHIS and linked mortality files).
• Assessed self-reported leisure-time aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity.
• Employed multivariate Cox regression to analyze mortality risk in relation to meeting PA guidelines.

Main Results:

• Meeting PA guidelines was associated with significant risk reductions in all-cause (14-36%), heart disease (25-52%), and cancer mortality (20-32%) compared to meeting neither recommendation.
• Greater risk reductions were observed for women vs. men (all-cause, heart disease), non-Hispanic/non-Latino White adults vs. Hispanic/Latino adults (all-cause), and adults with higher education levels.
• Specific educational attainment differences were noted for cancer mortality risk reduction.

Conclusions:

• Adherence to physical activity guidelines offers substantial mortality risk reduction across major causes of death.
• The magnitude of these mortality benefits is not uniform and varies significantly based on sociodemographic factors.